


Mission Accomplished

by Adventures_in_Writing



Category: Red vs Blue
Genre: M/M, Spoilers for S12, Tuckington - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-07
Updated: 2014-11-07
Packaged: 2018-02-24 11:24:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2579756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adventures_in_Writing/pseuds/Adventures_in_Writing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was mostly Theta thinking, but once the kid had thought about it he couldn’t let it go. Delta had been running some rather interesting statistics and probabilities based on Theta’s idea too. Both of them had made Church more curious than he had been originally. He’d discussed their — his — thoughts with Carolina as soon as they had some time to themselves. Apparently she had been thinking along the same lines and was planning on asking Washington about it later.</p>
<p>Playing matchmaker would definitely give the two something to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mission Accomplished

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS FOR THE END OF SEASON 12 IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT!
> 
> Prompt received over on my Tumblr: Church and Carolina teaming up to try and get Tuckington to confess their feelings to each other.

* * *

There was a thought that had been bothering Church ever since they had been given the ultimate ultimatum; leave the planet or die. At the time, Carolina and Church had come up with three options. Wash had added a fourth, very plausible, option. If the guys hadn’t been so stubborn about it, Church would have happily gone along with Wash’s idea.  
  
And it was Wash’s idea (or rather, what has been the result of Wash’s idea) that Church had been thinking about since then. It was mostly Theta thinking, but once the kid had thought about it he couldn’t let it go. Delta had been running some rather interesting statistics and probabilities based on Theta’s idea too. Both of them had made Church more curious than he had been originally. He’d discussed their — his — thoughts with Carolina as soon as they had some time to themselves. Apparently she had been thinking along the same lines and was planning on asking Washington about it later.  
  
Playing matchmaker would definitely give the two something to do.  
  
Normally, Carolina wouldn’t poke her nose into other people’s business, but she thought that Wash deserved at least a little happiness in his life. He had certainly worked damn hard for it and if he could find happiness with a certain person, well, Carolina wasn’t against giving him a little nudge.  
  
Carolina knocked on Tucker’s door and peered in briefly before he could answer.  
"Hey, Tucker. You got a minute, man?" Church asked, lingering at the door.  
  
Tucker was laying on his back, propped up slightly so as to not disturb his recently acquired stab wound.  
"Dude, I got stacks of time. Doctor Grey won’t let me do jack shit while I have these stitches in."  
  
Church flickered out of view for a moment before reappearing in the room. Carolina closed the door behind the hologram and  patiently waited outside for the two to finish their conversation. This was something Church wanted to discuss with Tucker alone.  
  
"Not gonna lie. You had me worried for a while there, man. I’m pretty sure you had everyone worried. Even Caboose was crying and he fucking hates you."  
  
Tucker offered Church an apologetic smile. “I guessed something like that would happen…it’s a good thing you guys had those healing units.”  
  
"It was still a close call, you jackass." Church’s tone was surprisingly warm.  
  
"The look on Felix’s face was so worth it."  
  
"Why’d you do it?" Church eventually asked. "Why didn’t you just leave Carolina, Wash and me here to finish things off?"  
  
Delta had told Church that wasn’t the best question to ask as there was an eighty percent chance Tucker was likely to get upset. Theta had said to just ask Tucker the question that had been floating around their heads to avoid hurting anyone’s feelings. Church ignored them both.  
  
Whatever it was that Tucker had been expecting Church to say, it wasn’t that. It caught him by surprise and it made him feel just a little bit pissed off.  
"So if it was me that was the A.I and I told you to fuck off and let me and the two freelancers finish it, you’d just leave?" Tucker snapped.  
  
Church could hear Delta say “I told you so.”  
  
"I didn’t want to leave anyone behind,” Tucker continued, “We’re a team. I don’t give a shit what Carolina thinks, but you and Wash are Blues. Hell, Carolina is probably a Blue too. Though maybe she should be a Red to even the teams. Felix told me once that in war, people get left behind. I say that’s bullshit. I know what it’s like to be on both sides and it’s shit. I won’t do it to anyone again. I won’t make them feel like that, not if I can help it."  
  
Church was a little taken aback at Tucker’s words. He hadn’t been filled in on all the details just yet, but he knew that Tucker had shouldered a lot of responsibility he probably didn’t want and wasn’t exactly trained to handle. It’s not like when Church was leader back in Blood Gulch where literally the only thing they needed to worry about was a team of Reds in a Warthog blaring awful polka music.  
  
"If…if it hadn’t been Wash that suggested it, what would you have done?"  
  
Tucker looked away, seemingly finding the floor remarkably interesting. Tucker didn’t want to say that he had suggested it only because he couldn’t have handled Wash leaving him behind. He couldn’t have handled knowing that he had willingly left Wash behind. Yes, Tucker had felt hurt and betrayed and angry when Church left but that one time he had to leave Wash behind had made him feel something else.  
  
Heartbreak.  
  
And Tucker wanted to forget that he had ever felt it. Tucker didn’t want to know that he felt that strongly for someone because that meant he could feel that heartbreak all over again.  
  
"I’d have done the same thing."  
  
"Tucker. I’m not a fucking idiot," Church said.  
  
He fiddled with the blanket.  
"I still would have done the same thing," he eventually replied. "But I probably wouldn’t have played as much of a role in the plan. You and Carolina left us. Having you guys leave again would have sucked but hey, it happened once before. It could happen again. I wouldn’t be fucking surprised. You’ve left us so many times I don’t think you get it. I had to leave Wash behind, Church. I didn’t have a choice."  
He looked out the window and his voice was soft.  
"I don’t think you realise just how much that killed me. I couldn’t do it again. Not willingly."  
  
"Aww, Tucker, I didn’t know you cared so much, ya big softie," Church joked, trying to lighten the mood.  
  
Tucker glared. “If I’m a softie just because I give a shit about leaving one of my team behind then you’re fucking heartless, dude.”  
  
Delta said that Tucker made a very good point.  
Theta didn’t want to agree with Delta, but he supposed from Tucker’s point of view, Church was kind of mean.  
  
"Look, I’m sorry. Really I am. I thought you guys had it covered. I didn’t think you’d care."  
  
"Well, news flash dickhead, we did. We do. You’re our friend, you’re on our team, of course we fucking care."  
  
"Buuuuut…"  
Tucker wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that.  
"You care about Wash in a different way, don’t you."  
  
Tucker crossed his arms and looked away. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”  
  
Judging from Theta’s reaction and the coy tilt of Delta’s head as he said “The surface temperature of Captain Tucker’s face increased by point five of a degree”, Church _did_ know what he was talking about.  
  
“You should tell him, you know,” Church said. “Before someone else takes him, or he leaves on his own. Trust me. You don’t want to be chasing after someone you care about once they’ve moved on.”

It was strange. Every time Carolina went to speak to Wash, it never seemed like the right kind of time. Church had given her shit for it saying it was because she was being a chicken. Carolina didn’t want to admit that Church might have been right. Wash wasn’t exactly comfortable with talking about feelings; ask him at the wrong time and you risked finding yourself up against an ice cliff. Having that happen would promptly ruin any plans that either of them had at trying to get Wash and Tucker to admit that they cared for each other.  
  
Her patience had soon paid off. One afternoon she was sitting quietly talking strategy with Church. She had noticed Wash looking around, almost as though he were lost.  
"Wash?" Carolina asked as Church logged off.  
  
"Oh, hey Carolina." He paused awkwardly, "You…haven’t seen Tucker, have you? Donut said he was in the infirmary but I couldn’t find him."  
  
"He has his daily check up with the Doctor. He shouldn’t be too much longer if you want to wait."  
  
"I see."  
  
"Is this your first time visiting?" She asked conversationally. Carolina already knew the answer but she didn’t think she would get quite the same opportunity again.  
  
Wash nodded. “I’ve been busy helping Kimball and Doyle with their negotiations.”  
  
Carolina tilted her head in a way that conveyed her disbelief,  
“He’s been in there for a week and a half already. I think even Sarge has gone in to see him.”  
  
Wash scuffed his foot along the ground, kicking a stone. “Like I said, I’ve been busy.”  
  
Carolina wasn’t convinced. “Sounds to me like you’ve been _avoiding_ your friend.”  
  
Wash said nothing. He couldn’t. What Carolina was saying was true.  
  
“Wash, back in Freelancer you were at my side before I’d even woken up from my surgery.”  
He shifted his weight. Carolina had worked with him enough to know the signs; Wash was uneasy with what she was telling him because he couldn’t deny it.  
  
“That was…different.”  
  
“Yes, it was. You didn’t like me half as much as you like Tucker.”  
  
“Like Tucker?” Wash asked, incredulously. “ _Like_ Tucker?!”  
Carolina nodded.  
“The guy drives me fucking crazy! Admittedly he is much better than what he used to be but he’s still a terrible human being!”  
  
Carolina crossed her arms. “Oh, you don’t mean that. If you did, you would have gone to visit him already. You wouldn’t have beaten yourself up over his plan that you couldn’t figure out how to reject. You wouldn’t _still_ be beating yourself up over it. You’ve killed and shot teammates turned enemies and enemies turned teammates. What makes these guys so different to us from Freelancer?”  
  
Wash took a seat on a discarded crate beside her muttered something that Carolina didn’t quite catch.  
  
“What was that?”  
  
“They haven’t betrayed me. They could have on a number of occasions, but they haven’t.”  
  
Carolina had to give that one to Wash. The Reds and Blues had stood by Wash despite all of the problems he’d caused for them. Washington had once told Carolina that they weren’t bad once you got to know them but hearing stories from the Lieutenants and the Rebels, Carolina was starting to think that they weren’t that bad, even if you didn’t know them.  
  
“He’s going to think you don’t care, you know,” Carolina continued after a few moments of silence.  
  
“What?”  
  
“He’s going to think you don’t care. Tucker came up with that plan entirely for you. Not for Church and certainly not for me.”  
  
“Don’t be ridiculous, Carolina.”  
  
“Why else would he have suggested it _after_ your plan to leave them behind rather than when Church suggested we all stay? He didn’t want to leave you behind, Wash. Neither of you say it, but you’re pretty important to each other. Tucker came up with that plan because he wanted to stay with you, no matter what. Never abandon your team. In his own stupid way, Tucker was doing it to try protect you.”  
  
Carolina wanted to get her message across, to try and have Wash understand what she was trying to tell him without saying ‘I have it on good intelligence that Tucker likes you. Go get him, Wash.’ Church had said that it would work out better if she was subtle.  
  
“If…if York was still around and I had made the suggestion you did…” Carolina trailed off.  
  
Wash was slowly catching on.  
“York wouldn’t let it happen.”  
  
Carolina nodded. “Exactly how Tucker didn’t.”  
  
Wash thought things over for a few minutes.  
“But York loved you.”  
  
Carolina sighed and wanted to hit Washington’s head against a wall. Talking about York was never very easy and Wash was making it harder still. He went well with the Blues. Although Wash was quite intelligent, he could be really damn stupid sometimes. Carolina stood and stretched. Enough dancing around; that was never her style anyway. Subtlety didn’t work if the person you’re trying to persuade was as dense as lead.  
  
“And I loved York in my own way, if you can believe that,” There was a fondness to Carolina’s voice that wasn’t often there. “Love isn’t always about being a hopeless romantic, though that _was_ York’s style. Just go talk to Tucker like you always do and tell him what’s on your mind. He comes across as an idiot, but his heart’s in the right place. You already know that.”  
  
“Yeah,” Wash sighed without really paying attention. “Wait, what?”  
  
Carolina grinned. “He should be done with the Doctor. Now, go and kiss and make up.” She made her exit then, leaving it all up to Wash. Carolina was fairly certain she knew what he would do.  
  
Tucker had used up all of his patience. Ten days stuck in this god-forsaken room with nothing to do except receive visitors was driving him insane. If it wasn’t Caboose talking his ear off it was Private Palomo. For every one visit that any of his other friends made, Palomo made five. It was getting beyond annoying.  
Caboose had just left for the third time that day with Donut when a knock came at the door.  
  
“Jesus fucking Christ, Palomo!”  
  
The door opened and a familiar freckled face that he hadn’t seen for a while peered in.  
“Is now a bad time?”  
  
“Oh…” Was that disappointment Washington could hear in Tucker’s tone? “I thought you were Palomo.”  
  
“I can find him if you want?”  
  
Tucker rolled his eyes dramatically. “Fuck no. I’ll see his stupid face another three times before lights out, you don’t need to go find him.”  
  
“He visits that often?” The information surprised Wash. How often did everyone else visit?  
  
“It’s annoying but, you know, at least he visits me,” Tucker said grumpily.  
  
“Maybe now _is_ a bad time…” Wash said hesitating at the door.  
  
Tucker sighed. “Dude, honestly it’s gonna be a bad time for you no matter when you visit.”  
  
“I suppose so… How are you feeling?”  
  
“Pissed off, but the Doctor says the stitches should be able to come out by the end of the week.”  
  
“…That’s good…”  
  
And awkward silence filled the room. The distant sound of troops training could be heard through the closed window and the tick-tock of the clock on the wall was almost deafening in the silence.  
  
“I’m—”  
“I’m—”  
  
Both men went to speak at the same time. Each paused, waiting for the other to speak first and when neither made an attempt, they both went to speak at the same time again. Tucker felt like he was back in high school talking to some chick he liked. Could he come across as any more pathetic?!  
  
“You first,” Wash said. He was fairly sure that Tucker wasn’t going to be making any kind of heart-felt apology; he didn’t need to. That’s what Wash was here for.  
  
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Tucker said. “I mean, the others had told me you were fine, but you know how some people like to lessen the blow?”  
  
“Oh…” Tucker had been worried about him? “I had a few cracked ribs and some bad bruising, but I was okay…am okay.”  
  
Again, silence filled the room.  
“So…how’s the training going?” Tucker asked. He hated silences. He’d always try to fill them with mediocre attempts at conversation because even the most mundane of topics was better than sitting in an awkward situation.  
  
“Uh, I’ve been helping Kimball and Doyle with their negotiations.”  
  
“Oh, that’s right. Kimball did mention that. She said they’re going well.”  
  
Another silence. Wash sighed heavily. It caught Tucker’s attention but he didn’t say anything. Usually when Wash sighed like that he was about to say something that was supposed to be inspirational or supportive or something.  
  
“I’m sorry I took so long to come and visit you.” Wash had managed to apologise without his voice wavering or cracking.  
  
Tucker tried to be nonchalant like it was no big deal. Unlike Washington, Tucker wasn’t melodramatic. A number of people who knew him may have argued the point though. “You’ve been busy doing shit. I get it. It’s not like I was dying…well, okay I was, but I’m not any more.”  
  
Wash shook his head. “That’s beside the point. You risked your life for the mission, for the team, for me. I should have visited sooner…I just…I’m not…”  
  
“Good with emotional stuff,” Tucker finished. “I know. You don’t have to get all mushy. I know you didn’t visit because you felt bad. I know you didn’t visit because you were probably upset with me. I hoping you didn’t visit because you now know _why_ I did it, why I came up with this plan, why I had to go through with it and you were just feeling a bit awkward about it and not because you hated me or something.”  
  
Wash shook his head. The movement was small and a slight smile played at his lips.  
“I don’t hate you. And I do know why you came up with the plan. I did have some help figuring it out though…”  
  
Steeling himself, he reached for Tucker’s hand, expecting the soldier to move away. Tucker didn’t move and instead took Wash’s hand in his own.  
  
“Well, if you know, I guess I don’t mind that it took you this long. I’ll have to thank whoever it was that tipped you off.” He gave Wash’s hand a gentle squeeze.  
  
“You’d never believe it if I told you.”  
  
Carolina stood with her hands on her hips as she looked up at the window to Tucker’s room. Within moments, Church flickered into view on her shoulder.  
“Mission accomplished,” he said and Carolina smiled.

 


End file.
